I see that being open is a trend during off-season, but this could be an interesting experience. A knowledge exchange if you want to call it like that. Ask anything that is on your mind and I shall answer as soon as I can.

I am an Systems Engineer by profession, so I can help with many things regarding Science and Technology, although the internet is full of such information, and this is a tennis forum, or so they say...

And not including WTF too...
Queen's, Miami, IW to be frank. In this order.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chirag

Favourate players ?

Federer, Hewitt, Delpo, Nishikori, Haas, Nalbandian, Goffin, Copil are the players whose progresses I'm currently following in accurate detail (I actually dropped Tomic from this list recently). There are many many many more lower ranked players who I'm following with the help of the live rankings.
Roddick, Safin, Sampras, Chang, Agassi were the players that I used to follow when I was a child and closer to now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chirag

Whats the fascination for rankings ?

I am a logical person that likes to keep track of anything involving numbers. Rankings provide both that and a way to more closely follow many players.

I said I'd ask you questions so here goes. A mix of funny (or failed attempts at being funny, which will infuriate you or make you struggle for answers), provoking and serious questions.

1-Have you ever felt that you settled in (you know getting married and having a kid) too soon or you're perfectly happy with how things are? I ask this because I'll be 20 in a few days and can't even fathom having a steady girlfriend in the near future, let alone being a married man with kids, so just curious.

2-How are babies made? (see this as a sort of preparation for when your daughter asks you this in 8-10 years ie be witty and not too, well, graphic)

3-Where and when did you meet your wife?

4-How long did you date before getting married (also when did you get married)?

5-Have my questions so far been either stupid, annoying or too personal?

6-What's your favorite Star Wars character?

7-How about your Star Wars favorite quote?

8-Do you possess any Star Wars gear?

9-You listed Del Potro and Nishikori among the players you're following. What are your expectations for them in 2013/next few years?

10-Have you ever watched any tennis match(es)/tournament(s) live? Which one(s)? Also, who was the player you most liked watching live?

11-Who do you think will be the next new Slam winner, in other words the next Slam winner not named Hewitt, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Del Potro or Murray?

12-Del Potro's US 2009 title - deserved and amazing achievement or fluke win over injured Nadal and choking Federer?

13-Murray's US Open 2012 title - deserved title or wind and scheduling assisted fluke?

14-I always believed and I'm not the only one that the tennis ranking system is flawed and inaccurate, very often not a correct representation of quality (more in the WTA, since at least recently ATP top players have been so consistent that this has not been a big issue at the top). As someone who obviously knows a lot about the ranking system, is there some merit to this view or is this an opinion whose holders should give up tennis analysis and join a circus, where their talents can be put to better use?

15-Answer the question on this link (no one other than Slasher should open this link, could be traumatic. Do so at your own peril )

16-Can you ever trust a link sent by me again after this?

17-You said you liked Heroes in my Q&A thread. What's your favorite character and whose superpower would you like to have given the choice?

18-Are you an anime/manga fan or you just knew them by name?

19-What are your favorite TV series?

20-How about favorite movies?

21-Favorite books?

22-Which countries have you visited apart from your own and which ones would you like to visit?

23-What's your opinion on MTF poster Mark Lenders ?

24-How did you come across MTF in the first place?

25-Which is/are your favorite football team(s) and player(s)?

Ok, this should be enough for now. I have more in mind though, will ask once you're one with these

When I was 8, back in 1993. The first match I remember watching was Chang vs Sampras at US Open. I think it was the QF, but I am not sure, and I remember Pete won.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chirag

Whats so special about Queens for you ?

It was mostly because Roland Garros would turn my tennis-meter up, and I remained hungry for tennis after RG ended. It became something I loved because it was the first grass tournament, something new to watch after Roland Garros. Back when I started watching Queen's the surface was really fast too and it was a joy to watch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pratik

Does this stem from a love of Mathematics and/or Statistics?

A love for Statistics to be exact.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pratik

How many times have you been to the Bucharest Open?

Every year between 1994 and 2004. Once in 2/3 years since then. 14 times I think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pratik

Do you like/dislike/what is your opinion of your local tennis (ex) players : Hanescu/Tiriac/Nastase?

Hanescu: Pretty neutral. Certainly liked Pavel more, his style was more suited for other surfaces besides clay. Ungur, the same as Hanescu. I like Copil more because I liked his more aggressive style of play more.
Tiriac: Never watched him play. He was a doubles specialist.
Nastase: Liked his style of play very much. Nobody can play like he did nowadays, tennis is different.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

I said I'd ask you questions so here goes. A mix of funny (or failed attempts at being funny, which will infuriate you or make you struggle for answers), provoking and serious questions.

Let me take some anti-depressive pills just to be sure...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

1-Have you ever felt that you settled in (you know getting married and having a kid) too soon or you're perfectly happy with how things are? I ask this because I'll be 20 in a few days and can't even fathom having a steady girlfriend in the near future, let alone being a married man with kids, so just curious.

I had my share of problems after being married. Getting to live with another person and always needing to find solutions to problems is hard at first. I did feel I married to soon a few times, but dialogue will always help you get over the things you used to do and find ways to integrate your old style of life into the new. It's a dual problem, because I'm sure she had the same problems. The kid solves all minor problems, because it work as "permanent unification" between us.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

2-How are babies made? (see this as a sort of preparation for when your daughter asks you this in 8-10 years ie be witty and not too, well, graphic)

Daddy comes home late at night, sits on the couch, turns on the TV, and seeing as nothing interesting is on, asks mommy if she wants to have a little joy into our lives. She agrees and soon after, daddy gives mommy a special little egg, which mommy nurtures inside her for a few months. I can do better... this is a scenario currently "in-work".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

3-Where and when did you meet your wife?

We were in the same class at uni. There was something between us right from the start. She considered me funny, I considered her funny, and the bond started growing from then.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

4-How long did you date before getting married (also when did you get married)?

3 years, and we married 3 years ago on October 31st. We're both almost the same age (she's one month younger), so we were 24 minus one week, and 24 minus one month.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

5-Have my questions so far been either stupid, annoying or too personal?

No, no and definitely no.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

6-What's your favorite Star Wars character?

Darth Bane, followed by Ben Skywalker in the Expanded Universe. Han Solo in the movies continuum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

7-How about your Star Wars favorite quote?

"Pretty, what do we blow up first" in the EU. "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further" from the movies continuum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

8-Do you possess any Star Wars gear?

None. Pretty hard to get something like from here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

9-You listed Del Potro and Nishikori among the players you're following. What are your expectations for them in 2013/next few years?

10-Have you ever watched any tennis match(es)/tournament(s) live? Which one(s)? Also, who was the player you most liked watching live?

Live as in from the audience? Yeah, but only here in Romania. Besides the Bucharest Open, where I watched such giants as Chela, Simon, Acasuso and even Ferrer win the final, I watched a good selection of Futures played in Bucharest, just for fun. Never went to a tournament off-broad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

11-Who do you think will be the next new Slam winner, in other words the next Slam winner not named Hewitt, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Del Potro or Murray?

Difficult to see the future is. Ferrer is a hard choice, Nishikori is a subjective choice. I'm thinking Raonic though, although I don't like the guy that much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

12-Del Potro's US 2009 title - deserved and amazing achievement or fluke win over injured Nadal and choking Federer?

Certainly deserved both mentally and physically. Do we have to consider every tournament won by someone when Nadal is injured a fluke?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

13-Murray's US Open 2012 title - deserved title or wind and scheduling assisted fluke?

Also deserved (wind is not something you can control, the same conditions were out there for all players), although let's face it, the scheduling was indeed shit, and their failure in getting a roof installed is THE fail.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

14-I always believed and I'm not the only one that the tennis ranking system is flawed and inaccurate, very often not a correct representation of quality (more in the WTA, since at least recently ATP top players have been so consistent that this has not been a big issue at the top). As someone who obviously knows a lot about the ranking system, is there some merit to this view or is this an opinion whose holders should give up tennis analysis and join a circus, where their talents can be put to better use?

There are many flaws in the ranking system in my own view. There are rules meant to protect tournament organizers into the ranking system (Commitment 0-point penalty rule). There should be fines, but nothing regarding rankings. The more such rules exist, the more complex the system is. There is merit in thinking the ranking system is inaccurate. The old rule used ages ago for giving bonus points for beating top players could help make the system more accurate, and is simple enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

15-Answer the question on this link (no one other than Slasher should open this link, could be traumatic. Do so at your own peril )

Holy shit !!!!! I'd go for A, but blindfolded.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

16-Can you ever trust a link sent by me again after this?

Yes, even more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

17-You said you liked Heroes in my Q&A thread. What's your favorite character and whose superpower would you like to have given the choice?

Sylar and Hiro were my favorites. And certainly Hiro deserved his superpower to grow and him to become in perfect control over it, like in the Season 1 episode in which he comes from the future. If he would have grown into that...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

18-Are you an anime/manga fan or you just knew them by name?

Fan of anime. Not so much of manga, maybe with the exception of the Naruto manga. Fan of hentai too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Lenders

19-What are your favorite TV series?

Currently airing: Game of Thrones (drama), The Big Bang Theory (sitcom), Futurama (cartoon).
Aired in the past: Lost (drama), Married with Children/MASH (sitcom), Captain Planet () (cartoon).

I always wanted to know how your ranking system worked ?
Do you think wimbledon is the most important tennis event ?
Your thoughts on surface homogenization ?
Any plans on visiting tennis tournaments abroad ?
Have you ever watched other sporting events in the stadium ?
Least favourate events ?
Lion or Tiger ?

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick the greek

Me and Fed, so special. I want him to stick around as long as possible.

More specifically?
Mainly, Descriptive Statistics or Statistical Inference or both?

Descriptive more than Inference. I like the other to draw their own conclusions from my work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pratik

Do you find doubles tennis boring?

Not at all. I do enjoy doubles tennis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chirag

I always wanted to know how your ranking system worked ?

It's an Excel spreadsheet that uses Visual basic macros in order to connect to ATP and ITF websites, and download tournament draw, updating points according to the parsed results. It also adds new player automatically if any of them have gained points, and has a daily schedule to operate upon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chirag

Do you think wimbledon is the most important tennis event ?

No. I don't consider any Grand Slam more important than another Grand Slam.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chirag

Your thoughts on surface homogenization ?

It's crap. Having specialists is what made tennis great back when I was watching. But homogenization ain't gonna stop me from watching. It's just how it is now. The trend. Pretty soon, something new will come up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chirag

Any plans on visiting tennis tournaments abroad ?

Yes. Roland Garros to be more exact, since my wife loves Paris during spring-summer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chirag

Have you ever watched other sporting events in the stadium ?

Of course. Football. I was at the UEFA Europa League final in Bucharest as well.

What about giving the points for each round and distinguishing between 250 and 500 level events ?
Why did you choose the tiger ?
Do you surf MTF when you work ?
Is your wife interested in tennis , if yes what are her favourtate players ?
What did you think of Feds domination in 2004-07 ?
What are your thoughts on that wimbledon final in 2008 ?
Players you dislike the most ?

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick the greek

Me and Fed, so special. I want him to stick around as long as possible.

3-Why do you prefer Futurama over, say, The Simpsons, if there's any discernible reason?

4-Is this Sylar's best ever quote ?

Quote:

I know you don't understand me. But, I wanna tell you why I am helping you. It's that delicious power. You see, when I get my ability back, I'm gonna kill you. And your sister. And I'm gonna take it all. And, if I don't get my ability back, it's not a total loss - Maya's learning quickly; she's a shiny new toy, and she's all mine.

5-What MTFer would you trust the most to babysit your daughter (can't say none, imagine there was some situation where only MTFers could do it )?

6-How often do you watch football matches live in the stadium? Ever done it outside of Romania?

7-Are Barcelona of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi the best club side of all-time?

8-List your favorite animes.

9-You said in that 'Which MTFer thread...' that you'd like to party with me. This means that if I ever happen to be in Bucharest you'll meet me and we'll go partying right ?

10-Who has three best FHs and BHs on the men's tour?

11-Do you like the WTA?

12-What would you advise tourists to do/visit if they went to your country?

13-How far do you believe Del Potro would have gone by now if he never had his unfortunate wrist injury/surgery?

14-Are the current top tennis players overrated because of surface homogenization (ie they succeed because conditons are tailor made for them all year long rather than because their talent level is so superior to the field)?

With regards to the rankings, do you, like me, believe there is something potentially unjust about a result which happened fifty-one weeks ago having as much bearing in a player's ranking than a result which happened last week? Do you think more recent results should have a greater weighting than older results?